No, they were shouting about people who think and say that people shouldn’t be killed for “blasphemy” and especially not for trumped-up “blasphemy” at the behest of spiteful neighbors. Well there’s a lovely cause.

Hundreds of Islamist hardliners took to the streets of Pakistan’s main cities yesterday in support of the country’s prejudicial blasphemy laws and against two leading politicians they have threatened for speaking out against the persecution of a Christian woman. At rallies in Karachi, Lahore and other cities, the crowds of protestors warned the political class against any attempt to amend or repeal the laws. They also chanted slogans denouncing Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab, and Sherry Rehman, a liberal parliamentarian.

Mr Taseer and Ms Rehman were singled out for speaking out against the treatment of Aasia Bibi…

Were they indeed. Well they’re two new friends of mine then.

Mr Taseer responded with characteristic insouciance. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “Who the hell are these illiterare maulvis to decide to whether i’m a Muslim or not?” Earlier, he tweeted: “Tomorrow mullahs r demonstrating against me…Thousands of beards screaming 4 my head.What a great feeling!”

It’s true. I looked him up on Twitter, and it’s true. I’m following him now. Maybe there’s a point to Twitter after all.

Apparently, this is a sensitive issue in Pakistan (not supporting the killing of women and even men for blasphemy). No surprise blasphemy laws are ‘exploited’ by extremists, because, well it’s an extreme law so why wouldn’t they.

When I hear that Aasia Bibi was denounced by spiteful neighbours, I think that it must have been like that in European villages a few hundred years ago, when vindictive neighbours denounced other villagers as witches.